Adaptive physical layer interface control for a wireless local area network

ABSTRACT

A wireless access point (WAP) supports one or more physical layer (PHY) operational parameters which can be restricted from use to lessen congestion within a wireless network (WN). The WAP periodically transmits a management frame to enable one or more communication devices to establish and/or maintain communication with the WAP. The wireless network can restrict one or more of the one or more PHY operational parameters, such as PHY data rates to provide an example, that are supported by the WAP from being utilized for communicating the management frame. This restriction of the one or more PHY operational parameters allows the WAP to periodically transmit the management frame at an increased PHY data rate thereby decreasing time needed for communicating the management frame which can lessen the congestion within the WN.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/959,918, filed Apr. 23, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,341,897,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/928,204,filed Oct. 30, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,986,455, each of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND Field of Disclosure

The present disclosure generally relates to a wireless network (WN) andincluding adaptive physical layer interface (PHY) control of one or moreadaptive wireless access points (WAPs) within the WN.

Related Art

The continued evolution of communication devices, such as mobilecommunication devices or personal computing devices, has allowed thesedevices to communicate vast amounts of information. Traditionally, thesecommunication devices were directly connected to each other usingcommunication cables to support wired communication. This traditionalwired communication is now being replaced by wireless communicationthrough a wireless network. The wireless network represents a wirelesscommunication network distributed over various geographical coverageareas, each geographical coverage area being served by one or moreaccess point (APs). The wireless network allows the communicationdevices to communicate vast amounts of information without being boundto the communication cables allowing the communication devices to freelymove about the wireless network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS/FIGURES

The present disclosure is described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical orfunctionally similar elements. Additionally, the left most digit(s) of areference number identifies the drawing in which the reference numberfirst appears. In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1A graphically illustrates a first adaptive wireless networkaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 1B graphically illustrates a second adaptive wireless networkaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 graphically illustrates block diagram of a wireless access point(WAP) that can be implemented within the wireless network (WN) accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of exemplary operational steps of the processorfor determining a restriction of one or more physical layer (PHY)operational parameters that are supported by a PHY according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers generallyindicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similarelements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated bythe leftmost digit(s) in the reference number.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE Overview

A wireless access point (WAP) supports one or more physical layer (PHY)operational parameters which can be restricted from use to lessencongestion within a wireless network (WN). The WAP periodicallytransmits a management frame to enable one or more communication devicesto establish and/or maintain communication with the WAP. The wirelessnetwork can restrict one or more of the one or more PHY operationalparameters, such as PHY data rates to provide an example, that aresupported by the WAP from being utilized for communicating themanagement frame. This restriction of the one or more PHY operationalparameters allows the WAP to periodically transmit the management frameat an increased PHY data rate thereby decreasing time needed forcommunicating the management frame which can lessen the congestionwithin the WN.

A First Exemplary Adaptive Wireless Network

FIG. 1A graphically illustrates a first adaptive wireless networkaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Awireless network (WN) 100 provides wireless communication between one ormore communication devices 102.1 through 102.k and adaptive wirelessaccess points (WAPs) 104.1 through 104.n within geographical coverageareas 106.1 through 106.n. Additionally as illustrated in FIG. 1A, theWN 100 can be proximate to one or more other WNs 108.1 through 108.m.The one or more other WNs 108.1 through 108.m similarly include one ormore WAPs communicatively coupled to one or more communication devicessuch that signals traversing within one or more coverage areas of theother WNs 108.1 through 108.m can propagate through one or more of thegeographical coverage areas 106.1 through 106.n. In an exemplaryembodiment, the one or more coverage areas of the other WNs 108.1through 108.m can overlap with one or more of the geographical coverageareas 106.1 through 106.n.

The one or more communication devices 102.1 through 102.k can representone or more mobile telephony devices, such as one or more mobile phones,one or more mobile computing devices, one or more mobile internetdevices, such as one or more tablet computers and/or one or more laptopcomputers, one or more personal digital assistants, one or more handheldgame consoles, one or more portable media players, one or more digitalcameras, one or more pagers, one or more personal navigation devices,and/or any other suitable communication device that is capable ofwireless communication within the WN 100. The geographical coverageareas 106.1 through 106.n can represent relatively small areas, such aswithin a person's reach, to form a one or more wireless personal areanetworks (WPANs), short distances within structures, such as homes,schools, computer laboratory, or office buildings, to form one or morewireless local area networks (WLANs), one or more large areas, such asbetween neighboring towns and cities or a city and suburb, to form oneor more wireless wide area network (WWANs), and/or any combination ofWPANs, WLANs, and/or WWANs that will be apparent to those skilled in therelevant art(s) without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure. Although not illustrated in FIG. 1A, one or more ofthe geographical coverage areas 106.1 through 106.n may overlap witheach other.

The WAPs 104.1 through 104.n operate in a substantially similar mannerto each other; therefore; only the WAP 104.1 is described in furtherdetail. The WAP 104.1 communicates with the one or more communicationdevices 102.1 within the geographical coverage area 106.1 and, in somesituations, with the one or more communication devices 102.2 through102.k within the geographical coverage areas 106.2 through 106.n inaccordance with one or more communication standards or protocols. Theone or more communication standards or protocols can include variouswireless networking communication standards or protocols, such as aversion of an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 communication standard, for example, 802.11a, 802.11b/g/n, and/or802.11ac which are collectively referred to as Wi-Fi, an IEEE 802.16communication standard, also referred to as WiMax, a version of aBluetooth communication standard, a version of a ZigBee communicationstandard, a version of a Z-Wave communication standard, a version of aIPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks (6LoWPAN)communication standard, a version of Insteon, an ISO/IEC 14543-3-10communication standard, also referred to as EnOcean, and/or or any otherwireless communication standard or protocol that will be apparent tothose skilled in the relevant art(s) without departing from the spiritand scope of the present disclosure. The one or more communicationstandards or protocols describe one or more communication signals thatare communicated within the WN 100 and/or between the WN 100 and a wirednetwork and/or another wireless network. These communication signals caninclude a management signal 150 for establishing wireless communicationwith the WAP 104.1. The management signal 150 can represent anauthentication frame, an association request frame, an associationresponse frame, a beacon frame, a deauthentication frame, adisassociation frame, a probe request frame, a probe response frame, areassociation request frame, and/or reassociation response frame toprovide some examples that is periodically transmitted by the WAP 104.1throughout the WN 100. In some situations, when there is a sufficientlylarge number of APs 104.1 through 104.n within the WN 100, each of theseAPs 104.1 through 104.n periodically transmit their correspondingmanagement frames, such as one or more of management frames 150, whichcan congest the WN 100.

The WAP 104.1 determines whether one or more physical layer (PHY)operational parameters, such as one or more PHY data rates to provide anexample, from among multiple PHY operational parameters that aresupported by the WAP 104.1 are eligible to be restricted from beingutilized for communicating the management signal 150 which can beadvantageous in lessening the amount of congestion the WN 100 isexperiencing. As part of this determining, the WAP 104.1 collectsinformation related to wireless networking traffic, such as one or morereceived signal strength indictors (RSSIs) of wireless networkingtraffic being received by the WAP 104.1 from the one or morecommunication devices 102.1. and/or the one or more WAPs and/or the oneor more communication devices of one or more of the one or more otherWNs 108.1 through 108.m, one or more Angles of Arrival (AoAs) of thewireless networking traffic being received by the one or morecommunication devices 102.1 and/or the one or more WAPs and/or the oneor more communication devices of one or more of the one or more otherWNs 108.1 through 108.m, one or more Times of Flight (TOFs) of thewireless networking traffic being received by the one or morecommunication devices 102.1, and/or the one or more WAPs and/or the oneor more communication devices of one or more of the one or more otherWNs 108.1 through 108.m, and/or any other suitable information that willbe apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s) without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The wirelessnetworking traffic, such as wireless data and/or one or more commands,is communicated within the WN 100, within one or more of the other WNs108.1 through 108.m, and/or among the WN 100 and the one or more of theother WNs 108.1 through 108.m. In an exemplary embodiment, the wirelessdata can include multimedia data, such as text, images, graphic objects,animation sequences, audio and/or video to provide some examples.

Thereafter, the WAP 104.1 can use the collected wireless networkingtraffic information to determine one or more locations of the one ormore communication devices 102.1. The WAP 104.1 can collect the wirelessnetworking traffic information at multiple instances in time, such asone or more times per hour or one or more times per day to provide someexamples. Next, the WAP 104.1 determines one or more locations of theone or more communication devices 102.1 corresponding to one or more ofthe multiple instances in time to determine an effective coverage areaof the WAP 104.1. Typically, the effective coverage area represents ageographical area less than or equal to the geographical coverage area106.1. Thereafter, the WAP 104.1 compares the effective coverage area,such as an area of the effective coverage area to provide an example,with a coverage area threshold to determine whether the one or more PHYoperational parameters can be restricted. For example, if the effectivecoverage area is less than the coverage area threshold, then WAP 104.1can be characterized as servicing a small coverage area. In thisexample, when the WAP 104.1 is servicing this small coverage area, themultiple PHY operational parameters that are supported by the WAP 104.1are eligible to be restricted from being utilized for communicating themanagement signal 150. As another example, if the effective coveragearea is greater than or equal to the coverage area threshold, then theWAP 104.1 can be characterized as servicing a large coverage area. Inthis other example, when the WAP 104.1 is servicing this large coveragearea, the multiple PHY operational parameters that are supported by theWAP 104.1 are not eligible to be restricted from being utilized forcommunicating the management signal 150.

Once the WAP 104.1 determines the one or more PHY operational parametersare eligible for restriction, the WAP 104.1 determines the amount ofcongestion the WN 100 is experiencing to determine whether to restrictthe one or more PHY operational parameters from being utilized forcommunicating the management signal 150. In an exemplary embodiment, theWAP 104.1 can forgo determining whether the one or more PHY operationalparameters are eligible for restriction and can simply determine whetherto restrict the one or more PHY operational parameters from beingutilized for communicating the management signal 150 based upon theamount of congestion. Typically, the wireless networking traffic withinthe WN 100 and the wireless networking traffic within the one or moreother WNs 108.1 through 108.m occupy similar portions of theelectromagnetic spectrum. As a result, the wireless networking trafficwithin the one or more other WNs 108.1 through 108.m as well as thewireless networking traffic within the WN 100 can cause the WN 100 toexperience congestion.

The WAP 104.1 determines the amount of congestion through monitoring thewireless networking traffic and/or its carrier sense function. In anexemplary embodiment, the WAP 104.1 determines the amount of congestionin terms of airtime capacity utilization or airtime channel utilization.In this exemplary embodiment, the WAP 104.1 measures the airtimecapacity utilization of the similar portions of the electromagneticspectrum shared by the WN 100 and the one or more other WNs 108.1through 108.m at different instances in time, for example, at five (5)minute intervals. In this exemplary embodiment, the WAP 104.1 averagesmultiple measurements of the airtime capacity utilization and comparesthis average to a congestion threshold to determine whether the WAP104.1 is experiencing congestion and, therefore, the one or more PHYoperational parameters need to be restricted. The congestion threshold,in this exemplary embodiment, can assume different values dependent upona time of day, e.g., morning, evening, or night.

After determining to restrict the one or more PHY operational parametersfrom being utilized for communicating the management signal 150, the WAP104.1 determines which PHY operational parameters from among the one ormore PHY operational parameters are to be restricted from being utilizedfor communicating the management signal 150 which can be advantageous inlessening congestion. The restriction imposed by the WAP 104.1represents an adaptive restriction that can be adapted by the WAP 104.1in response to the amount of congestion. The WAP 104.1 can lessen therestriction allowing more PHY operational parameters from among themultiple PHY operational parameters to be utilized by the WAP 104.1 tocommunicate the management signal 150 as the amount of congestiondecreases and/or greaten the restriction allowing fewer PHY operationalparameters from among the multiple PHY operational parameters to beutilized by the WAP 104.1 to communicate the management signal 150 asthe amount of congestion increases.

For example, the WAP 104.1 communicates the management signal 150 at oneof its supported PHY data rates R₁ through R_(c). In this example, theWN 100 can restrict the WAP 104.1 from utilizing a first group of theone or more PHY operational parameters, such as the PHY data rate R₁,and allow the WAP 104.1 to utilize a second group of the one or more PHYoperational parameters, such as the PHY data rates R₂ through R_(c), tocommunicate the management signal 150 when the WN 100 is experiencing afirst level of congestion. In this example, the WAP 104.1 can greatenthe restriction by adaptively restructuring the first group of the oneor more PHY operational parameters to include one or more PHYoperational parameters from among the second group of the one or morePHY operational parameters, such as the PHY data rate R₂, when the WN100 is experiencing a second level of congestion that is greater thanthe first level of congestion. This adaptive restructuring furtherrestricts the WAP 104.1 from utilizing the PHY data rate R₂ tocommunicate the management signal 150. Also in this example, the WAP104.1 can lessen the restriction by adaptively restructuring the secondgroup of the one or more PHY operational parameters to include one ormore PHY operational parameters from among the first group of the one ormore PHY operational parameters, such as the PHY data rate R₁, when theWN 100 is experiencing a third level of congestion that is less than thefirst level of congestion. This adaptive restructuring allows the WAP104.1 to utilize the PHY data rate R₁ to communicate the managementsignal 150.

A Second Exemplary Adaptive Wireless Network

FIG. 1B graphically illustrates a second adaptive wireless networkaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Awireless network (WN) 120 provides wireless communication between theone or more communication devices 102.1 through 102.k and the adaptivewireless access points (WAPs) 104.1 through 104.n within thegeographical coverage areas 106.1 through 106.n in a substantiallysimilar manner as the WN 100; therefore, only differences between the WN100 and the WN 120 are to be discussed in further detail. As illustratedin FIG. 1B, the WN 120 is communicatively coupled to a network server122. The network server 122 can be situated within one or more of thegeographical coverage areas 106.1 through 106.n or outside of thegeographical coverage areas 106.1 through 106.n and can communicate withthe WAPs 104.1 through 104.n using any suitable wired communicationand/or wireless communication that will be apparent to those skilled inthe relevant art(s) without departing from the spirit and scope of thepresent disclosure. The network server 122 can represent multipleservers distributed within a single geographic location, such as apremises of a service provider, or can the multiple servers can bedistributed among multiple geographic locations.

The network server 122 represents a pool of configurable computingresources that are shared by the WAPs 104.1 through 104.n. As discussedabove in FIG. 1A, the WAP 104.1 determines whether the one or more PHYoperational parameters are eligible to be restricted, determines theamount of congestion, and/or determines which PHY operational parametersfrom among the one or more PHY operational parameters are to berestricted. However, one or more of these operations, or portionsthereof, can be performed by the network server 122 in a similar manneras discussed above in FIG. 1A. In an exemplary embodiment, the networkserver 122 can determine whether the one or more PHY operationalparameters are eligible to be restricted, can determine the amount ofcongestion, and/or can determine which PHY operational parameters fromamong the one or more PHY operational parameters for the WAPs 104.1through 104.n are to be restricted. For example, as discussed above, theWAPs 104.1 determines the one or more locations of the one or morecommunication devices 102.1. Thereafter, in this example, the WAPs 104.1can send the one or more determined locations of the one or morecommunication devices 102.1 to the network server 122 which determinesthe effective coverage area and/or whether the one or more PHYoperational parameters can be restricted. As another example, the WAP104.1 determines the amount of congestion through monitoring thewireless networking traffic. In this other example, the network server122 determines whether to restrict the one or more PHY operationalparameters based upon on the amount of congestion, and if so, which PHYoperational parameters from among the one or more PHY operationalparameters are to be restricted.

Exemplary Wireless Access Point (WAP) that can be Implemented within theWireless Network (WN)

FIG. 2 graphically illustrates block diagram of a wireless access point(WAP) that can be implemented within the wireless network (WN) accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. A wireless accesspoint (WAP) 200 communicates the wireless networking traffic and/ormanagement signal, such as the management signal to provide an example,to one or more communication devices of a wireless network (WN), such asthe one or more communication devices 102.1 through 102.k of the WN 100and/or of the WN 120 to provide some examples, in a downlink direction220 and/or receives the wireless networking traffic from the one or morecommunication devices in an uplink direction 222. The WAP 200 includes aprocessor 202, a media access controller (MAC) 204, and a physical layerdevice (PHY) 206. The WAP 200 can represent an exemplary embodiment ofone or more of the WAP 104.1 through 104.n.

The PHY 202 represents an interface between the WAP 200 and the one ormore communication devices and/or other WAPs within the WN. The PHY 202defines electrical and physical specifications for the WAP 200, such arelationship between the WAP 200 and a transmission medium to provide anexample. The PHY 202 establishes and/or terminates one or moreconnections to the transmission medium to transmit network traffic, suchas the wireless networking traffic and/or the management signal toprovide some examples, to the one or more communication devices in thedownlink direction 220. In an exemplary embodiment, PHY 202 canadditionally transmit wireless networking traffic related information toa network server, such as the network server 122 to provide an example,in the downlink direction 220. The wireless networking traffic relatedinformation is used by the network server to determine whether the oneor more PHY operational parameters are eligible to be restricted, todetermine the amount of congestion, and/or to determine which PHYoperational parameters from among the one or more PHY operationalparameters for the WAP are to be restricted. The PHY 202 establishesand/or terminates one or more connections to the transmission medium toreceive the wireless networking traffic and/or the information relatedto the wireless networking traffic, such as one or more received signalstrength indictors (RSSIs) of wireless networking traffic being receivedby the one or more communication devices, one or more Angles of Arrival(AoAs) of the wireless networking traffic being received by the one ormore communication devices, one or more Times of Flight (TOFs) of thewireless networking traffic being received by the one or morecommunication devices, and/or any other suitable information that willbe apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s) without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

Generally, the PHY 202 modulates, encodes, and/or converts aninformation frame 250, including the wireless networking traffic and/orthe management signal, to provide an information signal 252 fortransmission to the WN and/or to the network server over thetransmission medium in the downlink direction 220. Specifically, the PHY202 supports one or more physical layer (PHY) operational parameters,such as one or more PHY data rates to provide an example. In somesituations, one or more of the one or more PHY operational parametersthat are supported by the PHY 202 can be restricted, as discussed inFIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, from being used based upon the amount of congestionthe WN is experiencing. The PHY 202 selects one or more of the PHYoperational parameters, which are not restricted from being used, todetermine specific modulating, encoding, and/or converting for theinformation frame 250. Thereafter, the PHY 202 modulates, encodes,and/or converts the information frame 250 in accordance with theselected one or more of the PHY operational parameters to provide theinformation signal 252. Additionally, the PHY 202 demodulates, decodes,and/or converts an information signal 254, including the wirelessnetworking traffic and/or the information related to the wirelessnetworking traffic, over the transmission medium to provide aninformation frame 256 in the uplink direction 222. Alternatively, or inaddition to, the information signal 254 can include information receivedfrom the network server to restrict the PHY 202 from using one or moreof the one or more PHY operational parameters that are supported by thePHY 202.

The MAC 204 represents an interface between the PHY 202 and theprocessor 202. The MAC 204 manages and maintains communications of theWAP 200 by coordinating access to the transmission medium with the otherWAPs and formats communications in accordance with one or morecommunication standards or protocols that are supported by the WAP 200.In the downlink direction 220, the MAC 204 encapsulates or frames asequence of bits 258 to provide a payload portion of the informationframe 250 and appends a preamble portion of the information frame 250 tothe payload portion in accordance with the one or more communicationstandards or protocols, such as any of the communication standards orprotocols as described above, to the provide the information frame 250.In an exemplary embodiment, the header portion includes a type field fordescribing the information frame 250 as a management frame and asub-type field for describing a type the management frame, such as anauthentication frame, an association request frame, an associationresponse frame, a beacon frame, a deauthentication frame, adisassociation frame, a probe request frame, a probe response frame, areassociation request frame, and/or reassociation response frame toprovide some examples. In some situations, the MAC 204 can generate thepayload portion of the information frame 250 from a previous sequence ofbits 258 that is stored within the MAC 204. Otherwise, the MAC 204decapsulates or de-frames the information frame 256 in accordance withthe one or more communication standards or protocols to provide apayload portion of the information frame 256 as sequence of bits 260.The MAC 204 can, optionally, authenticate and/or authorize theinformation frame 256 before decapsulating or de-framing.

The processor 202 controls overall operation and/or configuration of theWAP 200. In an exemplary embodiment, the processor 202 determineswhether the one or more PHY operational parameters are eligible to berestricted, determines the amount of congestion, and/or determines whichPHY operational parameters from among the one or more PHY operationalparameters are to be restricted as discussed above in FIG. 1A. Inanother exemplary embodiment, one or more of these operations, orportions thereof, can be performed by the network server in a similarmanner as discussed above in FIG. 1B. Thereafter, the processor 202 canprovide a restriction command 256 to restrict the PHY 202 from using oneor more of the one or more PHY operational parameters that are supportedby the PHY 202.

Exemplary Operation of the Processor within the Wireless Access Point(WAP)

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of exemplary operational steps of the processorfor determining a restriction of one or more physical layer (PHY)operational parameters that are supported by a PHY according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The disclosure is notlimited to this operational description. Rather, it will be apparent toordinary persons skilled in the relevant art(s) that other operationalcontrol flows are within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.The following discussion describes an exemplary operational control flow300 of a wireless access point (WAP) within a wireless network, such asone or more of the WAPs 104.1 through 104.n of the WN 100 or the WN 120to provide some examples.

At step 302, the operational control flow 300 determines whether one ormore physical layer (PHY) operational parameters, such as one or morePHY data rates to provide an example, from among multiple PHYoperational parameters that are supported by the WAP are eligible to berestricted from being utilized for communicating a management signal,such as the management signal 150 to provide an example. Thisdetermination can be perform by the WAP and/or a network server, such asthe network server 122 to provide an example, as described in FIG. 1Aand FIG. 1B.

At step 304, the operational control flow 300 determines the amount ofcongestion the WN is experiencing to determine whether to restrict theone or more PHY operational parameters from being utilized forcommunicating the management signal. The operational control flow 300determines the amount of congestion through monitoring the wirelessnetworking traffic as described in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B.

At step 306, the operational control flow 300 determines which PHYoperational parameters from among the one or more PHY operationalparameters are to be restricted from being utilized for communicatingthe management signal which can be advantageous in lessening congestionas described in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B. Thereafter, the operational controlflow 300 reverts to step 304 to determine the amount of congestion theWN is experiencing. As such, the restriction imposed by the operationalcontrol flow 300 represents an adaptive restriction that can be adaptedby the operational control flow 300 in response to the amount ofcongestion the WN is experiencing. The WN can lessen the restrictionallowing more PHY operational parameters from among the multiple PHYoperational parameters to be utilized by the operational control flow300 to communicate the management signal as the amount of congestion theWN is experiencing decreases and/or greaten the restriction allowingfewer PHY operational parameters from among the multiple PHY operationalparameters to be utilized by the operational control flow 300 tocommunicate the management signal as the amount of congestion the WN isexperiencing increases.

CONCLUSION

The following Detailed Description referred to accompanying figures toillustrate exemplary embodiments consistent with the disclosure.References in the disclosure to “an exemplary embodiment” indicates thatthe exemplary embodiment described can include a particular feature,structure, or characteristic, but every exemplary embodiment may notnecessarily include the particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring tothe same exemplary embodiment. Further, any feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with an exemplary embodiment canbe included, independently or in any combination, with features,structures, or characteristics of other exemplary embodiments whether ornot explicitly described.

The Detailed Description is not meant to limiting. Rather, the scope ofthe disclosure is defined only in accordance with the following claimsand their equivalents. It is to be appreciated that the DetailedDescription section, and not the Abstract section, is intended to beused to interpret the claims. The Abstract section can set forth one ormore, but not all exemplary embodiments, of the disclosure, and thus,are not intended to limit the disclosure and the following claims andtheir equivalents in any way.

The exemplary embodiments described within the disclosure have beenprovided for illustrative purposes, and are not intend to be limiting.Other exemplary embodiments are possible, and modifications can be madeto the exemplary embodiments while remaining within the spirit and scopeof the disclosure. The disclosure has been described with the aid offunctional building blocks illustrating the implementation of specifiedfunctions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functionalbuilding blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenienceof the description. Alternate boundaries can be defined so long as thespecified functions and relationships thereof are appropriatelyperformed.

Embodiments of the disclosure can be implemented in hardware, firmware,software, or any combination thereof. Embodiments of the disclosure canalso be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium,which can be read and executed by one or more processors. Amachine-readable medium can include any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputing device). For example, a machine-readable medium can includenon-transitory machine-readable mediums such as read only memory (ROM);random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storagemedia; flash memory devices; and others. As another example, themachine-readable medium can include transitory machine-readable mediumsuch as electrical, optical, acoustical, or other forms of propagatedsignals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.).Further, firmware, software, routines, instructions can be describedherein as performing certain actions. However, it should be appreciatedthat such descriptions are merely for convenience and that such actionsin fact result from computing devices, processors, controllers, or otherdevices executing the firmware, software, routines, instructions, etc.

The Detailed Description of the exemplary embodiments fully revealed thegeneral nature of the disclosure that others can, by applying knowledgeof those skilled in relevant art(s), readily modify and/or adapt forvarious applications such exemplary embodiments, without undueexperimentation, without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intendedto be within the meaning and plurality of equivalents of the exemplaryembodiments based upon the teaching and guidance presented herein. It isto be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for thepurpose of description and not of limitation, such that the terminologyor phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted bythose skilled in relevant art(s) in light of the teachings herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless access point (WAP) within a wirelessnetwork, the WAP comprising: a physical layer (PHY) device; and aprocessor configured to: analyze an effective coverage area of the WAPto determine whether a first operational parameter from among aplurality of operational parameters is eligible to be restricted, anddetermine, in response to the first operational parameter being eligibleto be restricted, whether to restrict the first operational parameterfrom being utilized by the PHY device based upon an amount of congestionthe wireless network is experiencing, wherein the PHY device isconfigured to: communicate a communication signal in accordance with thefirst operational parameter in response to the first operationalparameter not being eligible to be restricted, communicate thecommunication signal in accordance with the first operational parameterin response to the first operational parameter being eligible to berestricted and not being restricted, and communicate the communicationsignal in accordance with a second operational parameter from among theplurality of operational parameters in response to the first operationalparameter being eligible to be restricted and being restricted.
 2. TheWAP of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: compare theeffective coverage area of the WAP with a coverage area threshold todetermine whether the first operational parameter is eligible to berestricted.
 3. The WAP of claim 2, wherein the first operationalparameter is eligible to be restricted when the effective coverage areais less than the coverage area threshold and not eligible to berestricted when the effective coverage area is greater than the coveragearea threshold.
 4. The WAP of claim 1, wherein the processor is furtherconfigured to: collect wireless networking traffic information relatedto wireless network information received by a communication device, anddetermine a plurality of locations of the communication device at aplurality of instances of time to determine the effective coverage area.5. The WAP of claim 1, wherein the communication signal comprises: aperiodic communication of a management signal configured to establishwireless communication within the wireless network.
 6. The WAP of claim1, wherein the plurality of operational parameters comprises: aplurality of PHY data rates that are supported by the PHY device.
 7. TheWAP of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to monitorwireless networking traffic flowing through the effective coverage areato determine the amount of congestion.
 8. The WAP of claim 7, whereinthe processor is further configured to restrict the first operationalparameter from being utilized to communicate the communication signalwhen the wireless network is experiencing congestion.
 9. The WAP ofclaim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to not restrict thefirst operational parameter from being utilized to communicate thecommunication signal in response to the wireless network notexperiencing congestion.
 10. A method for managing congestion in awireless network, the method comprising: comparing an effective coveragearea of a wireless access point (WAP) within the wireless network with acoverage area threshold to determine whether a first physical layer(PHY) operational parameter from among a plurality of PHY operationalparameters is eligible to be restricted; communicating a communicationsignal in accordance with the first PHY operational parameter inresponse to the first PHY operational parameter not being eligible to berestricted; and when the first PHY operational parameter is beingeligible to be restricted: monitoring wireless networking trafficflowing through the effective coverage area to determine an amount ofcongestion the wireless network is experiencing, restricting the firstPHY operational parameter from being utilized to communicate thecommunication signal when the wireless network is experiencingcongestion, and communicating the communication signal in accordancewith the first PHY operational parameter in response to the first PHYoperational parameter not being restricted or in accordance with asecond PHY operational parameter from among the plurality of PHYoperational parameters in response to the first PHY operationalparameter being restricted.
 11. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising: when the first PHY operational parameter is being noteligible to be restricted, communicating the communication signal inaccordance with the first PHY operational parameter.
 12. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the communication signal comprises: a periodiccommunication of a management signal configured to establish wirelesscommunication within the wireless network.
 13. The method of claim 10,wherein the plurality of PHY operational parameters comprises: aplurality of PHY data rates that are supported by a PHY device.
 14. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the monitoring comprises: measuring airtimecapacity utilization of an electromagnetic spectrum shared by thewireless network and one or more other wireless networks at differentinstances in time; averaging the airtime capacity utilization measuredat the different instances in time; and comparing the averaged airtimecapacity utilization to a congestion threshold to determine the amountof congestion the wireless network is experiencing.
 15. A wirelessaccess point (WAP) within a wireless network, the WAP comprising: aprocessor configured to determine whether a first operational parameterfrom among a plurality of operational parameters is eligible to berestricted based upon an effective coverage area of the WAP, and whenthe first operational parameter is being eligible to be restricted, theprocessor being further configured to: determine an amount of congestionthe wireless network is experiencing, restrict the first operationalparameter from being utilized to communicate a communication signal whenthe wireless network is experiencing congestion; and a physical layer(PHY) device configured to: communicate the communication signal inaccordance with the first operational parameter in response to the firstoperational parameter not being eligible to be restricted, communicatethe communication signal in accordance with the first operationalparameter in response to the first operational parameter being eligibleto be restricted and not being restricted; or communicate thecommunication signal in accordance with a second operational parameterfrom among the plurality of operational parameters in response to thefirst operational parameter being eligible to be restricted and beingrestricted.
 16. The WAP of claim 15, wherein the communication signalcomprises: a periodic communication of a management signal configured toestablish wireless communication within the wireless network.
 17. TheWAP of claim 15, wherein the processor is further configured to: measureairtime capacity utilization of an electromagnetic spectrum shared bythe wireless network and one or more other wireless networks atdifferent instances in time; average the airtime capacity utilizationmeasured at the different instances in time; and compare the averagedairtime capacity utilization to a congestion threshold to determine theamount of congestion the wireless network is experiencing.
 18. The WAPof claim 17, wherein the congestion threshold is configured to assumedifferent values dependent upon a time of day.
 19. The WAP of claim 15,wherein the processor is further configured to: collect wirelessnetworking traffic information related to wireless network informationreceived by a communication device, and determine a plurality oflocations of the communication device at a plurality of instances oftime to determine the effective coverage area.
 20. The WAP of claim 15,wherein the processor is further configured to: compare the effectivecoverage area with a coverage area threshold to determine whether thefirst operational parameter is eligible to be restricted, wherein thefirst operational parameter is eligible to be restricted when theeffective coverage area is less than the coverage area threshold and noteligible to be restricted when the effective coverage area is greaterthan the coverage area threshold.